[Level Up!
You have reached Level 2.
+5 Status Points awarded.
All stats slightly recovered.]
"Status"
A golden interface glowed before his eyes
[Name: Noah Stryer
Level: 2
Star: N/A
Race: Human
Age: 18
Affiliation: None
Class: N/A
Title(s): None
HP: 110
MP: 22
Mana: 22
Stamina: 110
Strength: 9
Agility: 11
Stamina: 10
Health: 8
Intellect: 13
Luck: 6
Status Points: 5
Skills (Active): None
Skills (Passive): None]
Noah gave a small nod. His grip tightened as he felt the faint difference in his body.
His eyes dropped to the unspent status points. He immediately started making calculations.
'No point in hoarding points this early. My agility is decent, but I need more strength if I want to survive'
He remembered how close he had come to losing his life mere moments ago, all because he couldn't make a clean cut.
Without hesitation, he willed 3 of his status points strength.
Noah felt his muscles tighten, a warm feeling spread through him. His body was stronger
Once the sensation ended, he focused back on the maimed corpse.
"First kill, huh?" Noah muttered.
Even after everything, the blood, the kill, he felt fine. He wasn't that fazed.
Noah tore his blood soaked blazer with surprising ease and tied it across his back to hold his weapons. Once he was sure they wouldn't fall, he kept on walking.
The streets narrowed as he walked. His footsteps echoed, the wind blowing behind him.
He avoided looking at dark windows, something about them felt off to him.
After a couple minutes of walking, Noah realized that he had arrived at a square The air felt thicker, much heavier. The pressure was much higher.
Trash and leaves swirled slowly around the street. Whistles from the air passing the cracks rang out.
The buildings in the area weren't crumbling, they were carved.
Long gashes spit through the structures as if something tried to tear them apart with their invisible claws.
Noah's expression darkened as he scanned for an exit.
Whatever had done that was probably beyond his weight class.
Before he could turn , an ear piercing screech ripped through the air.
Noah's eardrums rattled as he whipped his head to the side, adrenaline flaring.
For a second, the wind stopped.
Then, behind the fountain at the square, something shifted.
Slowly, a long spiked limb rose above the stone, then another followed by a grotesque looking head.
It's five pale eyes were reflective like cracked glass.
Everything else unfolding quickly. A twisted mantis twice his size, its exoskeleton chipped and warped. Patches of raw flesh pulsed between its plates, twitching each breath.
Noah took a step back.
His heart slammed against his ribs. In all eighteen years he had lived, he had never felt fear like this.
The thing clicked its mandibles.
Then it moved.
Fast.
His instincts screamed. If he stayed here for even a millisecond longer, he would die.
SHING
It closed the distance in a breath, scythe cutting through the air.
Noah dove to the side, the blade slicing mere inches away from his face. He hit the ground hard, shoulder first, and rolled across broken stone.
CRRKK
He turned and stared at the spot he'd just been. A deep, jagged gash split the ground.
He yanked out machete and pipe, gripping both as he dropped into a defensive stance.
The beast's eyes locked onto Noah again and lunged.
Noah did bother trying to meet it head on, he couldn't. He side stepped just in time, the beast scythe slicing into where he'd been.
CRACK
Stone shattered. Dust exploded.
Noah stumbled back, coughing while swinging the pipe wildly to keep the beast at bay.
The monster didn't flinch. It twisted with unnaturally, legs creaking, and lashed out again, horizontally this time.
Noah barely ducked.
He fought away the feelings of fear as he felt wind tear past his scalp.
He didn't think. He moved. He rolled to the side, came up, and thrust the machete forward like a spear.
TING
Metal had struck metal. He'd hit its leg, and it didn't even flinch.
CRACK
The monster swung its leg, smashing into Noah's side.
Pain exploded through his ribs, he hit the ground gasping for air.
For a second, he couldn't move or breathe. He stared up at the ruined sky, wide eyed with a burning chest.
The mantis didn't wait.
He heard it, its blades scraping and the sound of something moving quickly through the air.
Noah rolled just enough to avoid the incoming strike.
CRASH
Stone shattered behind him.
He dragged himself up, gasping for air with blurry vision.
The monster moved again, more aggressively this time.
It wanted to close the battle.
Noah glanced at his now bent pipe, then his machete, before tightening his grip.
BOOM
The mantis stuck out harder than it ever did before, its scythe crashing into the ground, launching a pillar of dust into the air.
The dust cleared, but Noah was nowhere in sight. Not until the mantis looked up.
He was in the air.
With his improved strength, superhuman jumps were now possible.
Noah thought fast. As he fell, he angled the pipe downwards and drove it forward.
SCHLK!
The mantis let out an ear splitting screech that tore through the air like nails on a chalkboard.
Noah landed hard, but steady, and immediately clamped his hands over his ears.
The sound vibrated his teeth, dug into his spine, and made his vision blur.
The mantis threw its head back mid screech, blood spraying from its ruined eye. As its neck twisted and plates shifted, something gleamed beneath its body, a jagged green crystal that was pulsing with light.
The wind seemed to howl within it.
'What the hell is that?' Noah thought.
The mantis's limbs twitched erratically, but Noah knew it wasn't dead. Not yet.
Its remaining eyes locked onto him.
Noah didn't wait.
He shot forward.
Every step sent pain shooting through his ribs and head, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving. The wind around the mantis was growing unstable. This was his chance.
The monster screeched again and slashed, but its timing was off. Noah slid underneath it and closed the distance.
He raised his machete and focused. A faint blue glow blanketed his machete, but he didn't notice.
Noah struck, aiming right between the plate next to the crystal.
SHRRK
The plate cut away violently. Before it could release another screech, Noah reached out with his off hand and yanked.
BOOM
A green light erupted from where he pulled. The monster released its loudest screech yet. Noah didn't react, he couldn't.
Noah braced his legs against the beast as he pulled with everything he had. The wind around the mantis became more wild, howling like a storm.
Noah threw his head back and screamed as the crystal tore free.
A soundless beam of emerald light burst upward, then quickly vanished.
[You have slain: Wind Mutated Mantis]
[Level up!]
[Level up]
[10 status points awarded]
[All stats have recovered]
Noah's vision was flooded with messages but he was too focused on the stone in his hand to notice them.
[Primordial Stone Sylphar
Grade: God
A primordial crystallization of pure wind affinity, Sylphar contains the raw essence of the Wind Law and is the highest expression of such. WARNING: Only those with compatible physiology may absorb it as well as digest it]
Noah might've been new, but even he knew there was nothing higher than god grade.
Noah took a shaky breath, staring at the glowing crystal in his hand.
Then suddenly, something shimmered nearby.
A few feet from the mantis's corpse, a spherical object floated just above the ground. It looked smooth and had streaks of yellow pulsating through the surface.
'A reward orb?'
He stepped toward it cautiosly, still gripping Sylphar tightly.
As he reached out, the orb dissolved into light.
[Reward Obtained: Ash]
At Noah's feet, a sleek blade formed from the fading glow. It was around the same length as his machete and far more refined. The edge was clean, and its balance was perfect. The hilt had grooves, and the steel seemed to reflect darkness.
Noah picked it up and focused on it.
[Ash
Type: Short Sword
Grade: Rare
Durability: 150/150
Affinity: Wind, Darkness
Description: A sleek, tempered blade made by an expert blacksmith. Ash has an edge that rarely dulls. Can be enhanced with a wind affinity.]
Noah read the description and smiled.
"I finally have a proper weapon," He chuckled aloud.
Noah gave the sword a couple of test swings and grinned harder. The weight was perfect, the grip felt natural.
He looked at the green crystal still in his hand. The wind inside it whispered and pulsed, tempting him. But he shook his head.
'Not yet'
Carefully, he slid Sylphar into his pocket, then reached for what was left of his blazer. He wrapped it tighter across his back and placed Ash there. Once he made sure it was secured, he turned back toward the mangled corpse of the mantis. It was dead, but the image of it thrashing was still fresh in his mind.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, it came.
THUMP
THUMP THUMP THUMP
A faint sound echoed through the street. Then another. Then dozens.
Noah's eyes narrowed.
From the alleyways and broken streets, he heard footsteps and snarls.
A horde was coming.
Noah muttered a curse.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy."